Never Too Late
by EighthHorcrux
Summary: Draco hasn't been himself this year, and Hermione can't help but notice that he's becoming more and more isolated from his friends. When Harry and Ron suspect him of being a Death Eater, she sees red and follows him out of the Hall. Though when the truth is revealed, unexpected sparks begin to fly. It really isn't too late to change for someone, not now, not ever.


**Author's Notes: Dramione is by far one of my OTPs, so expect a lot more Dramione in the future! This is based in the Half Blood Prince, the storyline isn't identical to the actual story, it's Hermione who finds Draco instead.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, it belongs to the amazing J.K Rowling!**

"You honestly think Malfoy's a _Deatheater?"_ Ron exclaimed, bringing his voice to a whisper towards the end of his sentence. He cocked a single eyebrow before bringing his attention towards me, clearly expecting me to continue his rant. I sighed as Harry also turned to face me, his expression identical to Ron's as both boys blatantly expected me to take their sides in this_ 'fight'._

I spied Ginny giggling from the corner of my eye, as Ron tucked into another chicken leg.

"Well he's only a boy, why would Vol-_The Dark Lord_ would recruit him when he's 16!" I sighed, instantly awarded with a glare from Harry as Ron snorted triumphantly, spitting crumbs all over the table in the process.

"I've been watching him on the map, he's been disappearing and appearing for these last weeks," Harry continued. "And he's got the history, his dad was a Deatheater too!" He snarled, grinding his teeth as he mentioned Lucius Malfoy. I bit my lip, peering over my shoulder towards the Slytherin table.

I must admit, Draco has been fairly isolated from his surroundings since the start of the year. I've spotted him without his cronies on several occasions, though whenever I attempt to confront him, he either tosses a ton of insults in my direction, or Harry manages to _'scare him off'._

"Oh for the love of Merlin Harry, just give him a break!" I screeched, louder than I'd first intended. I quickly darted my eyesight to the marble ground, as I slightly audible sound of footsteps was heard from the opposite side of the Hall. I swivelled around and peered over my shoulder once more to witness Draco tearing out of the huge oak doors, his robes billowing from behind him.

My throat felt dry as I felt both Harry and Ron's eyesight burning into me, tears oddly building up in the corners of my eyes.

"Hermione I -" Harry began.

"Just leave it Harry." I muttered, swinging my legs over the bench, and fleeing from the Hall, tossing my bag over my shoulder in the process. I dabbed at my now dampened eyes with the sleeve of my robes, flinging open the door with a muttered spell, and slamming it with a large bang. After peering around making sure that I was certainly alone, I leaned onto the wall, bringing my head backwards as I allowed the tears to fall freely.

Why was I crying? Did I really care for him?

I glanced upwards again, and caught sight of a certain silver-haired boy jogging around the corner of the nearest corridor. The questions flowing around my mind, I used my sleeve to dry my face again, before I sprinted in search of Draco Malfoy.

_Why am I so bothered about what he does with his life? __He hates me!_

I kept a couple of feet or so behind Draco, darting behind crevices occasionally as he speed walked up the corridor, attempting to yank his tie off, before tossing it onto the floor. Peeves tossed a few jeers at him seeing him in his state as Draco yelled a curse in retaliation, before literally exploding into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

I glued my feet to the ground for what seemed like hours, but in reality was a couple of minutes, before I staggered over and picked up his tie, brushing it with my thumb as I noticed a small crack in where Draco hadn't properly closed the door to the bathroom.

Not realising at first how much I was trembling, I brought my shaking hand up to the door, clamping my lips shut with my teeth as I attempted to open the door minimising creeks. Moaning Myrtle had always taken a dislike to me ever since our first encounter, and began to toss insults and sneers at me as I simply rolled my eyes in response, not really in the mood for her antics right now.

Heavy sobbing however broke me away from my trance, as I turned to my left to discover the source of the noise. I felt my throat instantly clench up and my heart shatter before me as Draco leaned upon one of the nearest sinks, attempting to undo his shirt buttons, while in the process of sobbing loudly. I took a couple of steps instinctively into the room, as Moaning Myrtle finished her protest, before Draco suddenly stopped trembling, probably discovering someone else's presence in the room.

"Draco?" I whispered, as he suddenly jumped, glaring into the mirror and seeing my reflection. He gasped loudly, hacking at his eyes with his shirt sleeve as he turned around to face me.

"What do you want Hermione?" He attempted to snarl, though his voice was blatantly breaking up as he spoke. Wait, where were the insults?

"D-Draco, what's wrong?" I gulped, tears sliding down my face as Draco lifted his weight from the sink.

"Why should I tell you? _Why would you care?"_ His voice dripping with emotion and defeat as it looked as if he'd break down on the spot while he gnawed his lip.

"You can trust me Draco." I said strongly after a deep intake of breath, as he brought his red raw rubbed eyes level to mine.

"I-I can't fail him. You don't understand. He'll kill me!" He sobbed, taking a gracious step towards me as he began to sob loudly again. I couldn't help but feel awful for him as I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was chosen!" He cried, resting his head on my shoulder as I took a sharp breath.

"Draco," I was perfectly aware that I was fairly close to breaking down also. "We can help you. There's Harry, and Dumbledore -" I began, as Draco lifted his head.

"You don't understand Hermione, he gave me orders, a mission." He sighed, his tears trickling down my shirt as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Draco, I'm sorry, we'll get through th -" He suddenly cut me off as my eyes locked with his grey orbs. Without warning, he began to lean forwards, the gap between us decreasing by the second with his eyes not once faltering from mine.

"I care about you Hermione, I can't risk you getting hurt for me," He whispered huskily as the distance between our faces was reduced to millimetres.

"We'll get through this Draco, I'll stand by you no matter what." I swore sacredly, all our bad encounters in the past completely demolished as the newly matured Draco burned through. He grinned a weak grin, finally closing the gap between our faces as his soft lips captured mine. I soon melted into the kiss, finally breaking away for air as I brought my sleeve to his face, wiping away his previous tears of fear from his face as I grinned impulsively.

"I'll stand by you, Draco," I sighed. _"It's never too late."_


End file.
